This Might Be Notre Dame's Most Loyal Fan!

Notre Dame Class of 66' -- Cappy Gagnon, sent me this photograph this afternoon. It was taken of a Notre Dame fan who was walking into Notre Dame Stadium this Saturday for the Blue-Gold Game. If you're like me, you've been accused of wearing your love for Notre Dame on "your sleeve..." -- but, this takes it to a whole new level! I would say he's COMMITTED to the Irish!

ND Football Players Find New Teams

Over the past few days, a number of former ND Football players found a new helmet to wear. In the NFL Draft, Jimmy Clausen was picked by the Carolina Panthers and Golden Tate was selected by the Seattle Seahawks in the Second Round, Sam Young went to the Dallas Cowboys and Eric Olsen was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the Sixth Round. Signing Free Agent NFL Contracts; Paul Duncan and Kyle McCarthy with the Miami Dolphins and Sergio Brown signed with the New England Patriots where he'll join his former coach, Corwin Brown. James Aldridge was invited to a tryout at the Miami Dolphins rookie camp, Robbie Parris will attend the Cleveland Browns rookie camp and David Grimes will be joining former coach Charlie Weis at the Kansas City Chiefs rookie camp.

The Undertones -- Perform at The Shirt Unveiling

Here's a sampling of songs that the University of Notre Dame's A cappella Choir -- the Undertones -- performed at Friday's unveiling ceremony of THE SHIRT. Click on the Link:

THE UNDERTONES

Notre Dame Glee Club at THE SHIRT Unveiling

Here's the Notre Dame Glee Club singing the 'Greatest College Fight Song in the Land' -- the Notre Dame Victory March -- at Friday's unveiling of THE SHIRT 2010. Click on the link and sing-a-long!

Link: NOTRE DAME VICTORY MARCH

THE SHIRT Unveiling at Notre Dame

On Friday, ND GO IRISH BLOG was in attendance at the unveiling ceremony of THE SHIRT 2010. Brendan Doyle (Holland, MI) is pictured here with a ND Cheerleader and "Diz" the new ND Leprechaun at the unveiling of THE SHIRT. Here's a number of videos of all of the activities involved leading up to the unveiling of THE SHIRT. Enjoy! Click on the links below:

COACH KELLY UNVEILING THE SHIRT

UNVEILING EVENT -- THE SHIRT 2010

NOTRE DAME'S IRISH DANCERS PERFORM

NOTRE DAME'S BAGPIPE BAND

Video of Golic Wearing USC Jersey

Just got back from Blue-Gold Weekend at Notre Dame. Had a wonderful time with the family -- if only the weather was better! Mike Golic was in town signing his book at the Hammes Notre Dame Bookstore and wearing Anthony Munoz's USC jersey -- to pay off a bet with his ESPN Radio partner, Mike Greenberg. Here's a video of Golic's Saturday at Notre Dame. Click on the Link:

GOLIC IN THE ENEMY'S COLORS

Clausen & Tate Go In Second Round

The wait is over for Jimmy Clausen and Golden Tate -- and they ended up a "country apart" as Clausen was drafted by the Carolina Panthers with the 46th pick and Tate went to the Seattle Seahawks and our "Pal Pete" with the 60th pick. Clausen ended up in a pretty good spot, with head coach John Fox who's a good friend of Charlie Weis and an offense similar to what the Irish ran in South Bend. Congratulations!

Jimmy Clausen Not Drafted in First Round!

Well, three years ago he stood at a podium at the College Football Hall of Fame (on Blue-Gold Weekend) as the consensus #1 player, at his position. in America. And he committed to play THEE POSITION IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL -- Quarterback at Notre Dame. This past season he played most of the year with torn ligaments in his toe (which required surgery) and he still threw 28 TD passes and only 4 interceptions. He left Notre Dame with one year of eligibility -- because he was convinced that he was a First Round pick -- a high First Round pick. That didn't happen. It's become painfully obvious, he should have stayed and played one more year at Notre Dame. The threat of a "Rookie Salary Cap" had something to do with this -- unfortunately, when you don't go in the First Round -- your concern isn't a salary cap. Who gave these two boys the advice that led them to leave ND early? I thought watching Brady Quinn drop to the 22nd pick was brutal -- it pales in comparison to what's transpired today. I guess it's a fitting end to Notre Dame Football these past few years. By the way, the drop to a 2nd Round Pick is a significant hit to the pocketbook. Clausen, at best can expect to receive a $2 million signing bonus. Compare that to what's expected to be a $50 million bonus for Bradford and $10 million or so for Tim Tebow. To add insult to injury, Golden Tate didn't get drafted either... What a shame.

Coach Kelly on ESPN'S "The Herd" This AM

Notre Dame Head Football Coach was on the radio this morning with ESPN's Colin Cowherd. You'll enjoy the interview. Here's a link to ESPN Radio and then click on the Brian Kelly interview:

COACH KELLY ON THE HERD

In Town for Blue-Gold Weekend?

Here's what you might want to do on Friday:

Noon: Head over to the Courtney Tennis Courts (on campus) and Cheer on the Irish at the Men's & Women's Big East Tennis Championships

4:00 PM: The Shirt Unveiling in front of the Hammes Notre Dame Bookstore

6:30 PM: Irish Sports Daily Event at Backstage Grill in South Bend (Former ND Football Players and Coaches being interviewed on Stage)

8:00 PM: Bookstore Basketball -- games will start around 7 PM and run for a few hours at the courts just west of the Hammes Notre Dame Bookstore

Have Fun!

Will We Hear "The University of Notre Dame?"

Announced from the podium by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, during tonight's "First Round" of the 2010 NFL Draft? I believe Jimmy Clausen and family is counting on it - and Golden Tate and family are hoping for it. Lots of rumors floating around about what the Steelers are going to do with Ben Roethlisberger -- if they trade him away today, some think the Steelers could be looking to draft Clausen. A few "experts" say he'll fall all the way to #30 and the Minnesota Vikings. All I hope for Jimmy is he doesn't get the "Brady Quinn" treatment tonight -- sliding down that Draft Board. The smart decision was to stay home in California - and not face the potential humility of waiting in that room (with all the cameras on you) for your name to be called. I believe Golden Tate has to hope that a team will decide to "trade up" late in the first round to draft him. If he doesn't go in the first round, I believe he'll be among the first ten picks in tomorrow's Second Round. It's going to be "good TV" tonight -- here's the TV Schedule for the 2010 NFL Draft:

Thursday, April 22
11 a.m.-1 p.m.: “Path to the Draft” (NFL Network)
1-7:30 p.m.: “Total Access Pre-Draft” (NFL Network)
3-4 p.m.: “SportsCenter Special: On the Clock” (ESPN)
4-4:30 p.m.: “NFL Live” (ESPN)
4:30-7:30 p.m. “SportsCenter Special: On the Clock” (ESPN)
7:30-11 p.m.: NFL Draft, Round 1, (ESPN / NFL Network)
11 p.m.-midnight: “Total Access Post-Draft” (NFL Network)

Friday, April 23
11 a.m.-1 p.m.: “Path to the Draft” (NFL Network)
1-6 p.m.: “Total Access Pre-Draft” (NFL Network)
3-4 p.m.: “SportsCenter Special: On the Clock” (ESPN)
4-4:30 p.m.: “NFL Live” (ESPN)
4:30-6 p.m. “SportsCenter Special: On the Clock” (ESPN)
6-10:30 p.m.: NFL Draft, Rounds 2-3 (ESPN / NFL Network)
10:30-11:30 p.m.: “Total Access Post-Draft” (NFL Network)

Saturday, April 24
9-10 a.m. “SportsCenter Special: On the Clock” (ESPN)
9-10 a.m.: “Total Access Pre-Draft” (NFL Network)
10 a.m.-6 p.m.: NFL Draft, Rounds 4-7 (ESPN / NFL Network)
6-7:30 p.m.: “Total Access Post-Draft” (NFL Network)

Sunday, April 25
1-3 p.m.: “SportsCenter Draft Wrap-Up Special” (ESPN)
6-7 p.m.: “Path to the Draft” (NFL Network)
7-8 p.m.: “Total Access Draft Recap” (NFL Network)

Notre Dame Announces 2010 Pep Rally Locations

Locations for the first four pep rallies for the 2010 University of Notre Dame football season have been determined – and include multiple locations around the campus. The traditional, season-opening Dillon Hall pep rally will be held on Friday, Sept. 3, in front of Dillon Hall on the South Quad of the University of Notre Dame campus. That rally comes prior to Notre Dame’s first game of the 2010 football season on Sept. 4 at Notre Dame Stadium against Purdue. The Sept. 10 rally prior to the Irish home game against Michigan the following day will be held at Irish Green, south of the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center on the very south edge of campus. The Notre Dame-Stanford rally on Sept. 24 will be held indoors at Purcell Pavilion in the Joyce Center. A Notre Dame-Boston College students-only rally Oct. 1, prior to the Irish road game at Boston College, will be held at Stepan Center. The sites for four other Friday home-game pep rallies – Oct. 8 (Pittsburgh), Oct. 15 (Western Michigan), Oct. 29 (Tulsa) and Nov. 12 (Utah) – will be determined at a later date.

BLUE-GOLD WEEKEND -- Official Events

Last year, the University of Notre Dame launched a ND GAMEDAY website -- and it was really well done! Well, they've just updated the ND GAMEDAY site for the BLUE-GOLD WEEKEND on campus. Click on the LINK below:

2010 BLUE-GOLD WEEKEND EVENTS

BLUE-GOLD WEEKEND -- IT'S ALMOST HERE!

For many, this is one of the best weekend's of the year -- and it definitely is for my family. We started the tradition five years ago to make the trek to South Bend for the Blue-Gold Game. The gang has come from as far away as; Florida, Colorado, Tennessee, New York, etc., to join in the festivities. We typically arrive on Friday and stay til' Sunday morning. The oldest to attend would be our Grandma Barb, who attended two years ago, at the age of 93! Here's a shot of Denny Doyle and Kevin Sweeney "running out of the tunnel" into Notre Dame Stadium -- at one of our Blue-Gold Weekend trips. These two Irish fans will be in attendance this weekend along with our "Official Photographer" Mike Doyle -- and a number of others from our Clan. You'll find us at THE SHIRT unveiling on Friday afternoon at the Bookstore -- then on to the Backstage Grille for Irish Sports Daily's "shin dig" (which begins around 6 PM) and then we'll probably head back to campus to see a few Bookstore Basketball Games. Saturday morning means breakfast at South Dining Hall and then you'll see us in the parking lot - tailgating prior to "kick-off." Denny and Kevin have agreed to an "autograph session" at our tailgate from 10 AM to 11 AM. Hope to see a few of you this weekend!

ND Students to Shave Heads Today!

Starting today at 4 PM @ LaFortune (Notre Dame's "Student Union") and running to 10 PM, for the next three days-- Notre Dame students will make a $10 donation to have their HEADS SHAVED to support the St. Baldrick Foundation and it's work with children stricken with cancer. Last year Notre Dame raised $26,500 from this event. Notre Dame QB Dayne Crist announced yesterday that he will be having his head shaved as will a number of his teammates. Crist also challenged other ND athletes to do the same. Here's a link to their website:

THE BALD & THE BEAUTIFUL

Golic To Wear USC Jersey to Pay Off Bet

It was announced this morning that former ND Football Player and Co-Host of ESPN's "Mike & MIKE" -- Mike Golic, will be wearing a USC Trojan Football Jersey at the University of Notre Dame's Blue-Gold Weekend. Each year, hosts Greenberg and Golic, place a fun wager on their NCAA basketball brackets. And, Golic lost. So, if you see Golic on Saturday, walking around campus with a USC jersey on -- you'll know why. Also, Mike Golic will be at the Notre Dame Bookstore at 9:30 AM on Saturday, signing copies of their book: "Mike & Mike's Rules for Sports and Life."

Did Clausen and Tate Leave Too Early?

The 2010 NFL Draft is two days a way and I'm sure the families of Jimmy Clausen and Golden Tate are anxiously wondering if their sons names will be called during Thursday night's First Round. I found this article this morning, on the NFL.com site -- and I don't think it's a story Jimmy Clausen will want to read. I don't want to believe Clausen's talent will translate into "out of the First Round." Yet, it begs the question -- did Clausen and Tate both leave too early? See the story:

CLAUSEN SLIDING OUT OF FIRST ROUND?

Recruiting Rankings -- Do They Pan Out?

Found this story yesterday at CNNSI.com and it speaks to a subject I believe is often overlooked. Ever "really listen" to the player introductions on Sunday Night and Monday Night Football? If you do, you'll be surprised at where many of the NFL "starters" played their college ball. You'll hear schools like; Alcorn State, Troy, Idaho State, Western Michigan, etc. -- not schools typically recruiting "five and four star" talent. Yet, these talented athletes, made it to the NFL. Well, with two days to go to this year's NFL Draft -- CNNSI.com looked at the "recruiting rankings" of the top projected players. Click on the link:

RECRUITING RANKINGS OF TOP PLAYERS IN 2010 NFL DRAFT

Robotic Blue-Gold Game This Friday at ND

If you're looking for something 'unique' to do on Friday evening in South Bend -- you should head over to the Stepan Center and attend the second annual "Robotic Blue-Gold Game." Kick-off is set for 7 PM. If you check the PHOTO OF THE DAY on this site -- you can see, Coach Kelly is already looking at whether or not a Robot QB has any eligibility left. Click on this link for more information -- and to see video of last year's game:

ROBOTIC "BLUE-GOLD" GAME

VIDEO COVERAGE OF LAST YEAR'S ROBOTIC BLUE-GOLD GAME

Notre Dame Baseball Players on MLB Rosters

The University of Notre Dame has placed a number of its student athletes onto Major League Baseball rosters over the years. Probably the most successful would be Carl Yastrzemski (even though he attended Notre Dame on a basketball scholarship), who played for the Boston Red Sox and was an 18 time American League All Star. Yaz's best season was in 1967 when he was named the American League's MVP after becoming the last hitter to achieve the "Triple Crown" -- leading the American League in; batting average, home runs and runs batted in that season. He retired with more than 3,000 hits and 400 home runs -- the first to achieve that mark in Major League history. A "first ballot" Hall of Famer, Yastrzemski's uniform #8 was retired by the Red Sox. Of the four former ND student athletes on Major League rosters -- Craig Counsell, infielder for the Milwaukee Brewers -- had the best day yesterday, hitting a GRAND SLAM in the Brewers 11 - 7 win over the Nationals (LINK TO VIDEO BELOW). Here's the list of former Notre Dame student athletes currently in the Major Leagues right now:

-Brad Lidge (Pitcher), Philadelphia Phillies
-Jeff Samardzia (Pitcher), Chicago Cubs
-Craig Counsell (Infielder), Milwaukee Brewers
-Aaron Heilman (Pitcher), Arizona Diamondbacks

VIDEO OF CRAIG COUNSELL'S GRAND SLAM